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Downtown Seattle Groups See Golden Opportunity For Their Own Neighborhood Public School Seattle Public Schools officials may soon get their best opportunity in years to open a public elementary school downtown, and various downtown...Mon, 28 Jul 2014 08:00:00 -0400http://kplu.org/post/downtown-seattle-groups-see-golden-opportunity-their-own-neighborhood-public-school
http://kplu.org/post/downtown-seattle-groups-see-golden-opportunity-their-own-neighborhood-public-school Seattle Public Schools officials may soon get their best opportunity in years to open a public elementary school downtown, and various downtown...138no Seattle Public Schools officials may soon get their best opportunity in years to open a public elementary school downtown, and various downtown...

]]>Coalition concerned about public safety Downtown<p><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; ">Recent violence against tourists and residents in downtown Seattle is putting pressure on the city council to put more cops on the street.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">The council received a letter from a large coalition of businesses and organizations concerned about public safety downtown.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; ">The letter is signed by nearly 160 organizations and entities in Seattle, including several hotels, restaurants and the downtown Seattle Association. Its president, Kate Joncas, says they kept hearing from people about aggressive panhandling and open air drug dealing.</span></p><blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">“So we’ve been working for a couple of months to say 'what do you think we need in downtown to keep it the great place we want?'” </span>Joncas<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> </span>says.</p></blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; "><font size="2">The&#160;</font><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">letter addresses <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2012/10/10/business-leaders-in-downtown-seattle.html">5 areas of concern</a>.&#160;</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">Chief among them is making police more visible, by deploying them more strategically and focusing on areas where they see drug markets and illegal behaviors. The coalition’s list also includes better protection of parks and prevention of graffiti. </span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">But at the heart of the matter is having enough tax revenue to pay for it all. </span>Joncas<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> says there’s already a special tax district in place downtown.</span></p><blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">&#160;</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">“And it’s a circle, if </span>dowtne..to<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> fund police, </span>Joncas<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> says. "So you have to look on both </span>sides.”<span style="font-size: 14pt; ">&#160;</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">&#160;</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">The city council is poised to vote on a proposal to add 10 police officer to the city’s payroll – at a cost of a million dollars. There’s also lots of analysis underway of how police interact with erratic people&#160;</span>and<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> discussions of the need for mental health professionals to intervene and provide housing , medicine or food, depending on what’s most needed.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">The <a href="http://www.seattle.gov/council/harrell/">chair of Seattle’s public safety committee</a> wants to put more cops on the streets. He’s backing a proposal by the mayor to add 10 police officers to Seattle’s payroll – and Bruce Harrell says he’d like the council to consider doubling or tripling that number. It’s in response to several recent violent encounters between police and erratic people on the streets of Seattle.</span></p><blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; text-indent: 0.5in; ">“We're spending millions and millions of dollars on these issues. So I'm still not convinced we're&#160;</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; text-indent: 0.5in; ">measuring it </span>appropriately," he says.</p></blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">Harrell is chairman of the council’s committee on Public Safety, Human Rights and Technology. He says computers can be used to help figure out how to best allocate resources.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">The city council is working on its budget proposals for next year. T</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">he council received the letter from the coalition of downtown businesses and individuals, concerned about safety on the streets, on Tuesday.</span></p><div>&#160;</div>Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:52:50 -0400http://www.kplu.org/post/coalition-concerned-about-public-safety-downtown
http://www.kplu.org/post/coalition-concerned-about-public-safety-downtown<p><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; ">Recent violence against tourists and residents in downtown Seattle is putting pressure on the city council to put more cops on the street.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">The council received a letter from a large coalition of businesses and organizations concerned about public safety downtown.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; ">The letter is signed by nearly 160 organizations and entities in Seattle, including several hotels, restaurants and the downtown Seattle Association. Its president, Kate Joncas, says they kept hearing from people about aggressive panhandling and open air drug dealing.</span></p><blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">“So we’ve been working for a couple of months to say 'what do you think we need in downtown to keep it the great place we want?'” </span>Joncas<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> </span>says.</p></blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: normal; "><font size="2">The&#160;</font><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">letter addresses <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2012/10/10/business-leaders-in-downtown-seattle.html">5 areas of concern</a>.&#160;</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">Chief among them is making police more visible, by deploying them more strategically and focusing on areas where they see drug markets and illegal behaviors. The coalition’s list also includes better protection of parks and prevention of graffiti. </span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">But at the heart of the matter is having enough tax revenue to pay for it all. </span>Joncas<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> says there’s already a special tax district in place downtown.</span></p><blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">&#160;</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">“And it’s a circle, if </span>dowtne..to<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> fund police, </span>Joncas<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> says. "So you have to look on both </span>sides.”<span style="font-size: 14pt; ">&#160;</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">&#160;</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; ">The city council is poised to vote on a proposal to add 10 police officer to the city’s payroll – at a cost of a million dollars. There’s also lots of analysis underway of how police interact with erratic people&#160;</span>and<span style="font-size: 14pt; "> discussions of the need for mental health professionals to intervene and provide housing , medicine or food, depending on what’s most needed.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">The <a href="http://www.seattle.gov/council/harrell/">chair of Seattle’s public safety committee</a> wants to put more cops on the streets. He’s backing a proposal by the mayor to add 10 police officers to Seattle’s payroll – and Bruce Harrell says he’d like the council to consider doubling or tripling that number. It’s in response to several recent violent encounters between police and erratic people on the streets of Seattle.</span></p><blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; text-indent: 0.5in; ">“We're spending millions and millions of dollars on these issues. So I'm still not convinced we're&#160;</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; text-indent: 0.5in; ">measuring it </span>appropriately," he says.</p></blockquote><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">Harrell is chairman of the council’s committee on Public Safety, Human Rights and Technology. He says computers can be used to help figure out how to best allocate resources.</span></p><p style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; "><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">The city council is working on its budget proposals for next year. T</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 38px; ">he council received the letter from the coalition of downtown businesses and individuals, concerned about safety on the streets, on Tuesday.</span></p><div>&#160;</div>35no

Recent violence against tourists and residents in downtown Seattle is putting pressure on the city council to put more cops on the street.

The council received a letter from a large coalition of businesses and organizations concerned about public safety downtown.

The letter is signed by nearly 160 organizations and entities in Seattle, including several hotels, restaurants and the downtown Seattle Association. Its president, Kate Joncas, says they kept hearing from people about aggressive panhandling and open air drug dealing.

“So we’ve been working for a couple of months to say 'what do you think we need in downtown to keep it the great place we want?'” Joncassays.

Chief among them is making police more visible, by deploying them more strategically and focusing on areas where they see drug markets and illegal behaviors. The coalition’s list also includes better protection of parks and prevention of graffiti.

But at the heart of the matter is having enough tax revenue to pay for it all. Joncas says there’s already a special tax district in place downtown.

“And it’s a circle, if dowtne..to fund police, Joncas says. "So you have to look on both sides.”

The city council is poised to vote on a proposal to add 10 police officer to the city’s payroll – at a cost of a million dollars. There’s also lots of analysis underway of how police interact with erratic people and discussions of the need for mental health professionals to intervene and provide housing , medicine or food, depending on what’s most needed.

The chair of Seattle’s public safety committee wants to put more cops on the streets. He’s backing a proposal by the mayor to add 10 police officers to Seattle’s payroll – and Bruce Harrell says he’d like the council to consider doubling or tripling that number. It’s in response to several recent violent encounters between police and erratic people on the streets of Seattle.

“We're spending millions and millions of dollars on these issues. So I'm still not convinced we're measuring it appropriately," he says.

Harrell is chairman of the council’s committee on Public Safety, Human Rights and Technology. He says computers can be used to help figure out how to best allocate resources.

The city council is working on its budget proposals for next year. The council received the letter from the coalition of downtown businesses and individuals, concerned about safety on the streets, on Tuesday.

]]>Downtown apartment construction signals a recovery<p>The number of apartments being built in downtown Seattle has jumped almost 10-fold compared with two years ago, suggesting the city&rsquo;s downtown core is in the midst of a rebound.</p><p>The first condo building to start construction in five years also recently broke ground in the city&#39;s Denny Triangle neighborhood. That&#39;s another sign that the market may be beginning to revive, after the real estate crash brought condo construction to a halt.</p>Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:23:31 -0400http://www.kplu.org/post/downtown-apartment-construction-signals-recovery
http://www.kplu.org/post/downtown-apartment-construction-signals-recovery<p>The number of apartments being built in downtown Seattle has jumped almost 10-fold compared with two years ago, suggesting the city&rsquo;s downtown core is in the midst of a rebound.</p><p>The first condo building to start construction in five years also recently broke ground in the city&#39;s Denny Triangle neighborhood. That&#39;s another sign that the market may be beginning to revive, after the real estate crash brought condo construction to a halt.</p>66no

The number of apartments being built in downtown Seattle has jumped almost 10-fold compared with two years ago, suggesting the city’s downtown core is in the midst of a rebound.

The first condo building to start construction in five years also recently broke ground in the city's Denny Triangle neighborhood. That's another sign that the market may be beginning to revive, after the real estate crash brought condo construction to a halt.